The Addams Family: Halloween - Addams Style
for their late Aunt Singe.]] "Halloween Addams Style" is a Halloween-themed episode from the second season of the 1960s black and white TV comedy series The Addams Family. It was first broadcast in the United States on ABC on October 29, 1965. When little Wednesday Addams hears the heartbreaking news that witches do not exist, the rest of her family try to reassure her that there really are witches. Her parents attempt to contact the ghost of an Addams family member, Aunt Singe, who was executed for witchcraft many years earlier. Grandmama Addams is certain that the spirit of Aunt Singe will not be making an appearance but tries hard to make sure that Wednesday is not disappointed. Plot The episode begins, like the Halloween episode from the previous year, with Morticia Addams sharpening a carving knife which her husband Gomez uses to carve a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern, Uncle Fester poses as a model for the pumpkin lantern. Morticia then announces that it is time for the Halloween festivities to begin. Gomez and Uncle Fester engage in an elaborate form of apple bobbing, the two men being at opposite ends of a see-saw and each having their own tub of apples. When Gomez goes to answer the door, Uncle Fester plunges into his tub, inadvertently winning the game. Gomez says that it was just his children Wednesday and Pugsley at the door, getting some practice at trick-or-treating. Morticia points out that they do not have any treats to give out to other children that evening. The family begin to prepare large amounts of salamander sandwiches, porcupine taffy and an explosive punch, even though no trick-or-treaters have come to their house for the last eight years. Wednesday comes home early from trick-or-treating, looking sad. She says that one of their neighbors, Mr. Thompson, told her that witches do not exist. Gomez is horrified that anybody could tell such a terrible lie to a child. He telephones Thompson and asks why he uttered the "vile canard" about there being no witches. Thompson says that he does not know what a "vile canard" is and calls Gomez a nut. Thompson's attitude makes Gomez begin to doubt if witches exist himself. Morticia reminds him of Aunt Singe who was burned for being a witch in Salem and whose ashes are still on display in the Addamses' house. The family decide that the best way to convince Wednesday that witches are real is to get one to speak to her. They are unable to find one in the phone book and it is too late to place a want ad in the newspaper. Morticia decides to hold a seance to contact Aunt Singe's ghost. Grandmama Addams knows that the seance will not work, Aunt Singe, like all witches on Halloween, will be too busy to attend. She persuades the Addamses' gigantic butler Lurch to stay late and help her to fake the seance. One of the Addamses' relatives, Cousin Cackle, a bearded old man with shaggy hair who only communicates through cackles, arrives to attend the seance. Before the seance can begin, a potion has to be prepared which requires the jawbone of an ass and a serpent's tooth, Grandmama provides one of her teeth instead. All those present hold hands and Morticia calls on the spirit of Aunt Singe. Lurch, using a high pitched voice, speaks through a funnel into a hole in the wall and identifies himself as Aunt Singe. Wednesday asks if Aunt Singe will come and visit them. Not wanting to disappoint her, Lurch agrees to the visit. Grandmama, unhappy with Lurch for having said that, has no choice but to go out in search of any witch she can find. Gomez,worried that Aunt Singe may not come, goes out to buy a new pet for Wednesday. He returns soon afterwards with a scrawny old horse which he names Rover, after Morticia rejects the name Fido. Gomez claims that the horse can do several tricks but the animal simply stands there and does nothing. When Wednesday comes in the room, she says that she would rather have a spider than a horse and Uncle Fester takes Rover away. A man in a Devil costume and a woman in a witch costume, named in the credits as Henry and Penelope Sandhurst, are seen in the street outside the Addamses' house. They are on a Halloween scavenger hunt and need to collect three more items to finish the game. Henry suggests that Penelope tries the Addamses' house while he goes to the one across the street. The gate magically opens to let her in but Penelope dismisses it as a Halloween prank. When Lurch opens the door and sees a woman dressed as a witch there, he assumes that Grandamama must have sent her. When Penelope says that nobody sent her, Lurch takes that to mean that she must be the real Aunt Singe and introduces her as a "visitor from the spirit world". The family are delighted to see her. They ignore her protests that they must have mistaken her for someone else and ask her to fly around the room on one of their broomsticks. Penelope is frightened when Lurch returns with a cage full of live bats and is even more scared by the sight of Uncle Fester, Cousin Cackle and the Addamses' pet lion Kitty Kat. She jumps out of the window, taking the Addamses' broomstick with her. Grandmama returns and says that Aunt Singe will not be able to come because she is too busy. Gomez tells her that Aunt Singe has just left but she clearly was busy, she went in such a hurry that she left her hat behind. At the end of the episode, Gomez and Uncle Fester are apple bobbing at either end of a see-saw once again. Fester is again plunged into his tub when Gomez goes to answer the door. He returns with a note from Mr. Thompson, in which Thompson says that he now knows that witches do exist and will call the police if the Addamses do not get the witch off their roof. Gomez excitedly tells Grandmama that there is a witch on their roof. She says that is nonsense, she was just on the roof and saw no such thing there. She walks away, clutching a broomstick in her hand. Cast *Gomez Addams - John Astin *Morticia Addams - Carolyn Jones *Uncle Fester - Jackie Coogan *Grandamama Addams - Blossom Rock *Lurch - Ted Cassidy *Wednesday - Lisa Loring *Cousin Cackle - Don Mcart *Penelope Sandhurst - Yvonne Peatie *Henry Sandhurst - Bob Jellison See also *''Halloween with the New Addams Family'' *''The Addams Family'': Puttergeist *''The New Addams Family'': Halloween with the Addams Family External links *"Halloween - Addams Style" on the Internet Movie Database. *"Halloween - Addams Style" on TV.com. Category:Episodes of TV shows Category:The Addams Family